Fears of vaccine exclusion as India uses digital ID, facial recognition

A woman receives Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine called Covaxin at a vaccination centre, in New Delhi, India. A requirement to register for vaccination appointments on a mobile app using Aadhaar is excluding millions of people who do not have an Aadhaar ID, said Jain. — Reuters

Millions of vulnerable people are at risk of missing out on Covid-19 vaccines as India uses its national digital identity for registration and pilots facial recognition technology at inoculation centres, rights groups and experts said.

Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, authorities are testing a facial recognition system based on the Aadhaar ID for authentication in the eastern state of Jharkhand, and plan to roll it out nationwide, a senior official said last week.